SatoriAnalytics: IT Financial Management
The objective of IT financial management is maximizing the return on investment in IT resources so that business requirements are satisfied at the lowest possible cost. Achieving this objective involves dynamically metering computing capacity and utilization in relation to cost detail, planning for future projected needs and implementing optimized pricing for IT services provided.
Effective IT financial management leads to cost/benefit transparency, reduced costs and maximized ROI for IT investments. Sound IT financial management helps answer the infamous “why does IT cost so much?” question that customers of IT services inevitably ask. By answering this question, cost reduction opportunities can be identified and the relationship between service provider (IT) and customer (IT resource consumer) is enhanced resulting in alignment of interests, which otherwise may not be achievable. In addition, through a close association of rates charged and resources consumed, user behavior can be modified to enhance accountability and minimize the overall cost of IT.
SatoriAnalytics’ deep metering of IT infrastructure capacity and usage, combined with cost analytics and accounting provides unique insight into the cost / benefits of computing environments and applications to guide investment, consolidation and budgeting decisions. Advanced chargeback capabilities allow for cost-recovery (or profit) as well as governance of IT usage by virtue of flexible pricing models to drive desired behavior and demand profiles. This level of IT transparency is also required for organizations moving to an IT-as-a-Service model.
At the core of the SatoriAnalytics platform is the Capacity Metering Engine, which performs two major functions:
- Computing Capacity Inventory Tracking: Dynamic and real-time tracking of IT infrastructure capacity on three levels; (1) physical servers, (2) virtual pools/instances and (3) applications. In order to make meaningful comparisons, capacity measurements are normalized using SatoriTech’s Computing Resource Unit (“CRU”) metric*
- Computing Capacity Usage Metering: Continuous monitoring of capacity usage and utilization by servers, pools/ instances and applications. Data aggregation and consolidated reporting enables monitoring in multiple dimensions, such as by server pools, user groups and applications
The IT Financial Management module provides capabilities for budgeting, accounting and charging to proactively control, manage and allocate IT costs:
- Cost Itemization: Intelligent wizards for detailed cost break-down to reflect total cost of ownership on per server, virtual pool/instance and application bases
- Financial Modeling and Budgeting: Simulations to optimize price lists for IT chargeback (e.g., cost recovery, profit margin and governance control) and forecasting for budget planning
- Chargeback: Reporting for allocation-based and usage-based chargeback of IT costs to business units and external parties
- Cost Efficiency Management: Scenario modeling for identification of cost reduction and resource optimization opportunities, including cost analytics for physical servers, virtual pools/ instances, applications and user groups. Proactive management by virtue of KPIs and alerts
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* Patent pending